Today’s introduction comes from Jennifer Medina, a national correspondent based in Los Angeles.

Every year, more than a third of all freshmen enrolled in California State University are required to take remedial classes in math or English.

Starting next fall, those courses will be gone.

In a radical shift for the largest public university system in the country, Chancellor Timothy P. White signed an executive order this week directing the 23 campuses to eliminate placement exams for math and English and overhaul the way they deal with remedial coursework.

By the fall of 2018, all campuses will have to devise a way to assist first-year students who need extra help to succeed in required math and English classes.

Colleges all over the country are examining remedial education, which critics say often derails students and prompts them to drop out. The shift is intended to allow more students to receive their degrees more quickly, a high priority for Mr. White, who has committed to double the system’s four-year graduation rate to 40 percent by 2025.

James T. Minor, a senior strategist for academic success in the chancellor’s office, said, “This is a seismic change for us.”

“It will have tremendous consequences for the number of credits students accumulate in the first year and will ultimately make college more affordable,” he added.

About half of all Cal State students receive Pell grants, which are given to the neediest students across the country. Roughly a third of all students are the first in their family to attend college, Mr. Minor said.

“We have a system that admits you and then says you are relegated to these classes that don’t get you any credit,” Mr. Minor said. “That sunk a lot of ships. We have heard very consistently that it invites students to question whether or not they belong in college. That has serious implications for whether they stick around.”

A study released last fall by the Public Policy Institute of California found that remedial courses in community colleges usually do not help students complete degree programs.

The chancellor’s order does not address how campuses should implement the changes. Campuses could extend a semester-long course over a longer period of time, for example, or provide extra tutoring for students who need help.

Mr. Minor dismissed any notion that the changes would amount to a watering-down of courses.

“We’ve been explicitly clear that we are not going to be compromising our academic quality or rigor,” Mr. Minor said. “Our job is to meet students where they are and get them the help they need.”

What do you think? Will eliminating remedial courses help Cal State students? Tell us at: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

California Online

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